You again?
by readbetweenthelines
Summary: Set after Ptolemy's Gate. Kitty can't stand not knowing what happened to Bartimaeus and Nathaniel two months ago, and she finally tries to summon the djinni. But will he appear? Or is she only getting herself into more trouble? B/K pairing, but a few other unexpected characters are there as well. *Spoilers for all three books*
1. Don't I know you?

**This is my addition to the B/K fan base because let's be honest, there aren't enough Bart/Kitty stories out there. Footnotes for Bartimaeus will make an appearance later on, let me get my sea legs first!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the Bartimaeus trilogy. All I have is a computer and a dodgy internet connection.**

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**Kitty**

Why?

Kitty closed her eyes, and a tear began to form between the lids. Why was she doing this again? He was dead, D-E-A-D. Dead. It was all done. Over. So why couldn't she just move on? Lord knows everyone else had. Not that _anyone _else had ever really given more than a passing thought to fate of the spirit hidden behind the martyred magician.

Nathaniel's funeral had been exactly two months ago; a large event with endless speeches and weeping crowds spilling out of St. Paul's cathedral. She'd gone, she'd cried with the masses, and she was over it. Kitty had only known the guy properly for about two hours as it was.

Kitty shook her head dismissively and opened her eyes again, swiping away a stray teardrop on her cheek. No. She wouldn't cry over this. What good did that ever do anyone? With a new resolve, Kitty pushed herself out of the plush armchair she had dropped into, absorbed in memories that distracted her from what she was about to do. She grabbed a slightly-used chalk stub from amongst the mess of diagrams on the coffee table (pentacle after pentacle, drawn again and again until every line was burned into her retinas) and made her way over to the cleared space in the centre of the floor. The hardwood floorboards shone where Kitty had scrubbed away years of filth.

Sliding to her knees, Kitty hesitated for a moment, and then began to trace the lines of the pentacle. Knowing the pattern so well, her hands fell into an automatic movement, and her mind drifted again.

Bartimaeus didn't get a funeral. After all, he was a filthy demon. Cruel and emotionless. Slandered and enslaved by magicians. Who cares if he was dead. ("Dead?" Who said those creatures were alive in the first place?) There were plenty more where he came from. Even many who were better, undoubtably. Bitter thoughts filled her head. She _hated_ magicians, _hated_ them!

But Kitty was one of them. Her hand faltered for a moment in the centre of a spiraling curve.

Why, oh why, was she doing this? All that had kept her going these last two months was the fact that she didn't know. What if Bartimaeus had survived? When she hadn't summoned him, there was always the possibility that he still lived. A faint smile lifted the corners of her mouth at the memory of the Other Place, and even with all of it - the sheer charisma and overwhelming power of that boy with the ageless face. Even now, as she was drawing the pentacle, he could be in the Other Place, waiting.

She shook her head again. No, not waiting. Not alive.

"He's dead. He's dead." Kitty muttered to herself. Better not to hope at all, and be surprised, than let herself believe that he could have survived.

It was a good enough plan in theory, but that tiny glimmer of hope just _wouldn't _go away. She wished it would. If Kitty summoned him, and he didn't come, if he was dead, the only drive she had had since the incident two months ago would be gone. The only sense of something better, something _more_, would be gone. Could she keep going without it?

Stupid. _Stupid_ Bartimaeus. Why did this have to happen? Why did she ever even meet him? Couldn't he look after himself? Of course he could. But for some reason Kitty couldn't let him. She allowed herself to imagine for a moment how much easier, simpler, her life would be if the djinni had just kidnapped her and left it at that - no life altering conversations or moralistic discussions. Easier, simpler. But not the same. Really, what if he _was_ dead?

"_Stop it,"_ Kitty whispered tossing the stump of chalk aside and surveying the freshly-drawn pentacle with a new conviction. "Either he's alive, or he's been dead for two months and I should be long over it!" Almost shouting now.

She stepped into the pentacle, at the centre of the intricate lines and loops, doubt clouding her mind. She was so distracted she almost forgot to leave a large gap in the chalk line, so he wouldn't be trapped. If he came.

Kitty drew in a deep breath.

And began the summoning.

**Bartimaeus**

Never before had I found the other place boring - mind numbingly _boring_ - and believe me, I'd been there a long time. Think, longer than the history of your solar system, long time. Don't believe me? Your loss. Oh, to be so utterly ignorant of the greater spirits around you. Namely, me.

Why was I so bored? The answer was, I didn't really know. The only time I ever, _ever_ remembered wanting to get out of the Other Place, back to Earth, was when Ptolemy gave me his last gift. He saved me, and there was nothing I could do about it. Oh how I fought and I fought, my essence spreading and stretching until I almost lost myself in the past lives of the other spirits of the Other Place. They thought I was mad. I'm not entirely convinced that I wasn't, at least a little bit.

Don't get me wrong, this was definitely not about Nathaniel. A djinni of my level doesn't get all emotional over every magician that dismisses me during a tricky situation. (Not that that happens very often). Besides, that boy was plain obnoxious for most of the time I knew him, apart from one small moment, right there at the end. No, this is definitely not because of him.

But i'm getting off topic

My essence stretched out. If I was human i'm pretty sure a few joints would have popped satisfactorily. It always amazed me how quickly the Other Place could heal. It could only have been a few weeks since the whole Nathaniel trauma, Earth time.

A few weeks. That's turning out to be quite a long time in the Other Place, for me.

I might never be summoned again, I was presumed dead.

That's what every one of us here dreams of, of course. An eternity, uninterrupted, never confined to the painful restraints of a physical form. Forever drifting, remembering, sharing memories, pictures. As long as the magicians believed I was dead, it would be time for me to start living in the proverbial heaven. As long as they thought I was dead.

Kitty. Kitty would think I was dead.

Why did that thought bother me so much? I'd never even had a second thought about the welfare of a human. Then again, I had really only known magicians before...and judging from the evidence, magicians and commoners were almost different species.

But still, why wouldn't Kitty get out of my head. Her stupid, human face. It was nothing special; frowning on the back of the golem, misshapen and lumped here in the Other Place ... glowing with a strange aura back on Earth.

Stop now.

This ... boredom, was ruining my moment of triumph. I should have been happy, overjoyed, beyond words! I might never have to go back.

Never find out what happened after I left.

Why did I care what happened on Earth? It's nothing to do with me! Never will be anything to do with me again, if all goes to plan. Isn't this what I wanted? The ideal, perfect plan.

It was all irrelevant anyway, because I was never going back.

...

An incessant tugging in my essence. A summoning.

_Oh, the irony._

Was it-

I stifled that thought before it started. It wasn't.

But what if it _was_...her.

I was so deep in thought I barely even felt the pain of my essence being compressed down to a single point. I slipped into my most comfortable guise. Ptolemy.

My heart began pounding in my chest, well, Ptolemy's. It had to be Kitty. It had to be. No one else would ever dream that a magician would waste their final breath freeing a spirit. No one that immediately occurred to me - and that, of course, is saying something.

The Other Place vanished, a room melted into view around me.

Along with a face I had never thought I'd see again.

"Hello, Bartimaeus." His voice was calm, utterly composed.

Correction. A face I'd _hoped_ I'd never see again.

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******Review. Seriously, it makes all the difference to update speed (gives me some serious motivation), and pointers/criticisms etc. are actually really useful, and all that jazz.**

******See you soon ;)**


	2. People used to stay dead, didn't they?

**Kitty**

Kitty waited for one minute, give him time.

Two.

She sat down, adjusted the hem of her shirt.

Three.

Kitty rubbed away at the edge of the pentacle. He'd need a big, definite gap in the chalk.

Four.

A slight ache began in her chest. She scrutinised a stray sliver of rubber hanging off the side of her shoe sole.

Five.

Breathing hitched slightly, only briefly.

Six.

Eyes watering. _  
_

Seven.

The expression on Kitty's face would have been comical if it wasn't torn between steadfast stoicism, and utter despair.

Eight.

Despair won. Kitty's eyes closed and she took a fast, shuddering breath. She couldn't do it any longer. He _was_ dead. Bartimaeus was never coming back. All that time she'd thought he was alive, she hadn't admitted to anyone, but she'd believed it. Bartimaeus would never go out like that, would he? No fanfare, no witty last line, no harebrained escape.

She hadn't mourned him at all, and he'd been dead for months.

At last a dry, racking sob escaped her lips. Kitty placed a fist over her mouth in frustration. Why? Why did she even care? He was a demon. He probably hadn't cared about her at all, no feelings, just another name in a list stretching back thousands of years. He was a demon. A djinni. A monster.

Another muffled sob behind her hand. She was _better _than this, Kitty Jones shouldn't be crying over some apathetic demon.

It was no good.

Kitty could try as hard as she wanted. But she knew, Bartimaeus _did_ care, he was her_ friend_. The ironic thing was she hadn't known for sure until just before he left, died, disappeared. The way he had looked at her after returning together from the Other Place. He looked right through her and was in awe, and respected, something he saw. And now that new, exciting Bartimaeus was never coming back.

The hand Kitty was using to muffle her sobs (_No, she wasn't crying)_ raised to cover her eyes as Kitty closed them and took a deep breath.

Memories flooded through her mind.

Bartimaeus. As Ptolemy. Sitting close by in a ruined building, his face turned aside. Light from the setting sun struck his exposed cheekbone, his shoulder, a golden creature crouched among the rubble. Grinning in the form of a skull when she tried to trick him, full of his own victory, his smarts. A huge red bird, gripping her in his claws. Stomach lurching tilts up and down in the sky. Ptolemy again, gauzy wings folded behind him, talking calmly as the Golem approached.

Kitty felt stabbing pains in her stomach. She couldn't breathe.

Joking. _Joking._ As a deranged afrit crept closer. Reduced to a pile of muck, sore and tired, fading, vanishing. The feeling that he was looking back at her. Bartimaeus. The relief at the sound of him amid the chaos in the Other Place. A boy with an ageless face, smiling at her lopsided mannequin. Order in a world of anarchy. Squashed and squeezed, compressed again into a tiny, material body. Because of her. His eyes, _still _the ageless boy, in Nathaniel's face.

Tears. Finally. Kitty's eyes throbbed. Sore and red.

The last time she saw him, it was Nathaniel, yet ... still Bartimaeus. Both of them trying to protect her. Working together.

Kitty almost chuckled to herself then. Sure, Nathaniel was nice, at the end. But she missed. Actually _missed_ Bartimaeus's jokes, his sarcasm, when he was serious; telling her about ancient battles, past acquaintances. He was more than a friend. He was ... a teacher? No. He was ...

Strange. Ancient. Ignorant. Clever. Obstinate. _Cocky, _and always, _always _infuriatingly sarcastic.

Even in the state Kitty was in a traitor corner of her mouth tilted upwards at that thought.

He was the most vibrant, unpredictable, exciting _person _that Kitty had ever met. She felt ... she, he was ... _I _... _you ..._

No.

_Bartimaeus is gone._ _Any feelings, _those _feelings,__ are useless._

**Bartimaeus**

You know how sometimes you think you know something, but then it turns out you don't really know that something, and the something that you think you know turns out to actually be something quite different? Happens all the time, right?

No? Not following me?

Let's simplify it.

When someone, a person say, is killed. And you, maybe you don't actually bear witness to said killing; let's say you happen to see this death through the eyes of a magician whose body you have just recently taken residence in - For argument's sake. You would generally refer to that person as _dead_. Correct?

Now, i'm just going to go ahead and state a hypothesis here: When someone's dead, there's no second thoughts, no 'oh, actually; I change my mind'. When someone is dead, they stay dead. Full stop. Never in my very long lifetime had I ever had reason to doubt this little theory. It's one thing that is _always_ right, call it a a 'fundamental law of nature,' if you will.

So, as i'm sure you'll agree, a problem occurs when said _dead_ person summons you. Not only are they now alive, they are also apparently a magician.

A stinking great _magician._

Ok, so everyone seems to be able able to become a magician these days, but not many people can say they've died and lived to tell the tale. Obviously.

Get it now?

For one thing it is definitely not pleasant when this 'dead' person sends a bolt of lighting to strike you in the neck while you stand there, very reasonably, with your mouth hanging open.

And so we get around to the current situation, because there I was, face to face with a dead man. No, not in a crypt, or a graveyard, but a nice-looking summoning room. New chalk, new floorboards, new, new, new. Face to face with a dead man, and shocked with several thousand volts of electricity. I think even I, Sakhr-al-Djinni, was justified in a _slight _expression of surprise.

I yelped and scrambled backwards. Not a good idea when you are in a pentacle the size of a phone booth. Let's just say I ended up with fewer blows than my pride had to take.

Of course, never missing a beat, I admirably regained my composure as much as is possible when you are blackened like a sausage that's been left on the barbecue, and sat up. Quickly switching guises into something suitably imposing. New rule; never let dead men see your weaknesses.

Ok, it was a kitten.

But, oh boy, was it one severely ticked-off kitten. And they can be vicious, believe me. I'd like to see you do better in my situation.

The man in the opposite pentacle folded his arms smugly. His heavily scarred face bearing a sufficiently toothless leer.

"Nothing to say, demon?"

The kitten just about managed to squeak:

"Is this about those boots I took?"


	3. Forgetting something?

**Whew, I actually got this chapter done on time. It is ... 11:19, on a sunday night and I am going back to school tomorrow ... hmmm. Anyways, I know I haven't written Bartimaeus to well in this chapter. Don't worry I'll edit it later in the week. Hopefully it won't stay this awful for long. Any suggestions will be appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I'm just some random person who lives in the middle of nowhere that stays up late at night writing about it...Oh well, I can dream.**

**So anyways, enjoy!**

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**Bartimaeus**

"This is ... unexpected." The kitten commented calmly, licking a paw and smoothing back the fur on its head. "Still, I would think you could come up with something a little better. I guess I can give you a few marks for the face. Scary."

And it was true, the guy looked like he'd tried to wash himself with a piece of barbed wire and then jumped into a furnace for good measure. This isn't such a crazy idea as you might think; I've seen a lot of things in my time.

"Shouldn't you be dead? I have to say, I'm somewhat disappointed." The kitten set its paw down and looked at the man. The_ mercenary_. "In my experience, the Pestilance usually finishes most people off."

I remembered some of the memories I'd picked up in Nathaniel's head. The flesh of his face falling inwards, the skin cracking like old paper, that final smile, displaying impossible extents of teeth...

How's that for a pretty picture, eh? Mind you, that was the only thing I saw in the boy's head; Oh boy, if Kitty could have _seen_...

The man slowly lowered himself to a sitting position, I watched intently. One finger over the edge of the pentacle and I would be on him in an instant. It was surprising how often magicians did make this mistake, humans are immensely dense sometimes.

"It's a shame your master...what was his name?...Ah, yes. Mandrake. That was it. Rather boring name if you ask me. He seemed the sort of type to go around calling himself Gladstone, or something of the like. It _is_ a shame he died, isn't it? I never got the chance to thank him for leaving me in that Pestilance infected chamber. It would have been a very...interesting conversation. Still, _you're_ here, aren't you now, Bartimaeus?"

The kitten wore a shocked expression, if a kitten can _have_ a shocked expression ... I wonder...

"Why, yes, I am. Ain't that a surprise?" I leapt up.

"Well then, nice seeing you and all, I do _love _these little reunions. I guess I'd better be going, things to get done, you know? I'll leave you to your plotting. Have a nice day!"

To emphasise my point I became a column of smoke and slowly drifted upwards, fading away as I rose.

The man didn't move.

"Oh you're not going anywhere, Bartimaeus. In fact, your going to be staying here for a _long_ time."

I slipped easily into Ptolemy's guise. No point into trying to scare the guy. He looked like he wouldn't bat an eyelid if a horde of Golems from Prague were charging right at him ... Mind you, if that was me, I wouldn't waste my time batting an eyelid, I'd turn tail and run for my life. But you get my point.

"Oh really?" I raised an eyebrow. "What you gonna do? Sit in that pentacle for the next hundred years? I warn you, I've yet to be beaten in a staring contest."

The man merely smiled. And this wasn't one of those nice 'Hey, how you doing?' smiles. It was more a 'Good day, I'm about to kill you' smile. There's a big difference. Trust me.

And then he said something that brought back rather unpleasant memories.

"Ever heard of the spell of Indefinate Confinement?"

**Kitty**

Knock-Knock

Someone at the door.

"Miss Jones? Miss Jones! I know you're in there!"

"Go away." Kitty mumbled. She was surprised by how rough her voice sounded.

"Kitty! Open this door! We're going to be late!"

Kitty rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She was still lying in the pentacle, now almost completely rubbed away. How long had it been since she tried to summon Bartimaeus? A minute? An hour? A day? She didn't know.

"Kitty! I'm coming in, whether you want me to or not!"

She sighed and closed her eyes.

There was a loud bang, followed by the sound of splintering wood.

Kitty's eyes flashed open and she shot upright. What the—?

A foliot, in the shape of a rather evil-looking cherub, burst into her room. Followed promptly by Rebecca Piper. The woman was wearing a bottle-green dress that flowed all the way down past her ankles and shimmered in what little light filtered through Kitty's closed curtains.

"The State address begins in half an hour, and I--" Rebecca stopped and took in the room around her. She clicked her fingers, "Simpkins! Send word to the Prime Minister, Miss Jones and I may be a little late tonight."

The cherub nodded briefly and flitted out of the room.

Rebecca knelt down and helped Kitty to a nearby chair. "What happened?" She asked, glancing around at the mess. She looked at the floor where Kitty had been and gasped. "Is that a pentacle? Kitty! Was it a demon?"

Kitty sniffed. "Don't call them demons." She mumbled in a small voice. "And no, it wasn't, it's my fault."

Rebecca looked confused.

"What's your fault?"

Kitty rubbed her eyes and stood up. "Nothing. It's nothing. Shouldn't we be going?" She strode toward the door. Rebecca didn't follow.

"Um...Kitty? Have you seen what you're wearing?"

Kitty stopped and looked down at herself. She was wearing an old pair of tracksuit bottoms and a white t-shirt, both of which were stained all over with chalk smears from the pentacle. Her hair was tangled all over her head. Kitty didn't want to imagine what her face looked like. She didn't even have shoes on.

"Oh." Kitty stood there, she just wanted to get out of this room as quickly as possible away from the pentacle, but she could hardly walk into the address like this.

In the end Rebecca solved the problem. She handed Kitty a large plastic carrier bag that she had been carrying. Kitty looked inside and raised her eyebrows.

"Expecting this, were you?"

Rebecca just strode past her, out of the door.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't be ready to go, good thing I planned ahead."

Despite herself, Kitty grinned. "Wait a minute, then." She called.

Rebecca laughed over her shoulder. "No chance. We're late as it is. You'll have to change when we get there."

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**There you go! Chapter 3! I never usually get past four sentences when writing a story. It actually helps when people are asking me to update. It means I have to, and so I do it. I know, I'm weird - I'm giving myself extra homework...**

**Not really! I enjoy it, honestly. Oh, and next few chapters I might try some different ways to put footnotes for Bart in, 'cos I'm finding it impossible to write without them. So just bear with me.**

**I _will_ try and update soon, but I can't make any promises, at least by the end of Saturday. I _know_; I said myself it was annoying waiting a week, but I'll just have to see how it goes. Wish me luck!**


	4. Who's there?

**Wow, got it done on time.  And I still have five minutes to post it. Good. **

**Thanks conception-creation, LM1991, and Allendra. I _am_ going to put the footnotes in brackets this chapter, so ... tell me if you think it works.**

**Also, I _think_ I've turned on anonymous reviews. I'm new to this thing, so I'm not sure. But they should work.**

**I'm not really sure about this chapter, so don't worry, i might update it later in the week and change some stuff.**

**Disclaimer: Even though i spend hours writing about the Bartimaeus trilogy, i don't own it :(**

**Aaaah! 2 minutes left! Better post now!**

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**Bartimaeus**

I stuck a finger in my ear and twisted as if trying to unblock it.

"What was that? Indefinite Confinement? Can't say I have ... nope. Have you tried asking another magician...No? I would if I were you. Actually, you know what? Maybe you're mistaken altogether..."

I trailed off hopefully.

The mercenary _(__**Yes, even after more than **_**four **_**years, I still didn't know his name. But seriously, when a guy's trying to kill you, what would your first priority be? Standing there like an idiot waiting for a handshake and introductions, or running like your life depended on it... Actually, scratch that; **_**All**_** humans are idiots, there's the answer to that question. Djinn? We have our priorities in a better order.)**_ gently pulled off the bandage that had been wrapped several times around his face.

Even by my standards, it was pretty disgusting. I won't go into details, it'll only put you off your dinner. But just imagine what it would look like if you had had most of your flesh, and a fair bit of what's underneath, eaten away by a living disease. So you only had the odd flap of skin, stretched painfully over the bones underneath, and the whole thing was barely healed - pus still leaking out all over and ataining the bandages...Whoops! Got a bit carried away there! Sorry, you'll just have to go hungry. Most humans could with losing a bit of weight, anyway.

He finished unwinding the bandage and set it on the floor.

"Can you possibly imagine the pain of being left to die? No chance to escape, the complete desolation of it. The certainty your life is over--"

I rolled my eyes. "_Actually_ no, I don't _have_ to imagine. I've been in more life or death situations than your puny little mind could even comprehend. And if you think--"

"--That master of yours left me to die, no remorse whatsoever. Self satisfied fool. If he'd had his way, i'd be nothing more than a stain on the floor of parliaments vault."

I sighed wistfully.

"For once I wish he _did _have his way..."

He ignored me. _Again._

"But luckily for me. The staff and amulet weren't the only things in that vault. If Mandrake wasn't such a fool, he would've seen just how much was stored in there--"

I cut him off again. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not stupid." I said in as bored voice as I could manage. "I can see where this is going. 'Mandrake, fool that he was, left the other contents of the vault behind. _Including_ another amulet', right?"

The mercenary nodded his head. "Correct."

"So, once he had gone, thinking you were dead. You crawled over to this amulet, and, I'm guessing, put it on."

He nodded once more. "It seems I have no need to tell you this, Bartimaeus. So why don't we just get on with your punishment, _eh_?"

He held up a small metal box, it looked like one of those ones that comes with really posh packs of cards. Even had little engravings all over it. Nice, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. _I_ don't.

I frowned. "You want a game of poker? No thanks, I prefer snap."

It _is sooo_ annoying when people ignore you...

"I took this box from among Lovelace's inventory at parliament." I sighed, of course _Lovelace_ would have had something ridiculous like that. You can't kill a person and just leave it at that anymore, it always comes back to haunt you. _**(Take my current situation as evidence of that.)**_

The man continued. "I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that it's made of pure silver, only the best from our dear, departed friend." Silver as well? Wasn't this just my lucky day..."I have already completed the Indefinite Confinement before you arrived, you'll be glad to know--"

"Oh, it's just _so_ kind of you for planning ahead. How _thoughtful_!" _**(I **__**am**__** being sarcastic here, just so you know. As I said before, humans are thick**__**)**_The woman put her hands on her hips and grimaced in a rather un-ladylike fashion.

"--And I'm just about to make a trip to the landfills outside the city." He glanced at the box in his hand and tossed it in the air absentmindedly. "This really is a rather ratty old tin, don't you think? It's not really worth keeping...Maybe I'll just...take it with me?" He slipped it into his pocket.

Despite myself, I rolled my eyes; Magicians are _such_ dramatists.

The mercenary looked back up at me. Then at a point over my head. What was it with humans and direct eye contact?

"It's about 5 o'clock now. I'd say you've got about 10 hours before the spell activates. I'll dismiss you. You can do what you want until then. Think of it as a parting favour." Again with the creepy smile.

I settled back to Ptolemy's form. Arms crossed.

"Oh, well that's _so _generous of you. I'll be sure to mention it to the people who right your epitaph. I _do_ hope you have all the funeral expenses paid. Because _this_ time. You'll be _staying dead._"

The mercenary regarded me calmly, and then spoke the words of my dismissal.

**Kitty**

Kitty leant out of the car window, staring listlessly at the sky. A few months ago it would have been unheard of for a commoner to be allowed_ near_ a car, let alone_ in_ one. But since Bartimaeus and Nathaniel, a lot of things had changed around London. Commoners were actually starting to be given an education, be involved in politics, have a say in what happened. Of course the magicians still summoned their slaves and used them with the same, if not more, contempt than before.

But Kitty was working on it. Or had been.

The aching feeling rose up in her stomach and she quickly thought of something else, anything else.

It's extremely difficult to make yourself stop thinking something.

Only one picture in her head now. The millions that had crowded into her brain before had lessened into more of a gentle trickle. Less overpowering. But still there.

A slight pang in the corners of her eyes suddenly brought her back to reality. Kitty realised how close she had been to crying. _Again._

This really was getting ridiculous. She wound up the window and settled back into the warm leather of the seat. Kitty shook her head and put a hand to her face. The skin was hot, as if in fever.

_Why_, though? She had had a life before Bartimaeus, so why couldn't she have one again? It wasn't that hard.

"Miss Jones? Is something wrong?"

Kitty glanced up. Rebecca Piper was glancing back at her in the rear view mirror, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

She realised she still had one hand to her forehead and swiftly lowered it, sinking back into the chair.

"It's just a little hot in here. Could you turn on the air comditioning?"

Rebecca didn't look convinced. But she nodded.

"Ok, then."

The next few minutes passed in restful silence, Kitty sat, mind wandering, completely still, while Jane continued to negotiate the crowded streets of London.

Eventually , just as Kitty's eyelids began to droop, the last corner was turned and parliament came into sight. A throng of brightly dressed people were all jostling each other at the doors, trying to bo the first ones in from the cold night air.

As they stepped out of the car, Rebecca handed Kitty the plastic bag.

"See that service entrance?" She said, and pointed to the left of the main gates.

Kitty nodded.

"If you go through there, down the stairs on the right and take the second door on the left at the bottom, you should come to the staff changing rooms. No one will be there, so you can get changed."

Kitty smiled her thanks, and rushed off in the direction of the service entrance. "Tell them I'll be there soon!" She called over her shoulder.

The service entrance was about 20 metres or so away from the main door. Kitty slowed as she drew away from the loud shouts and greetings and mindless chattering that hovered around it. It was nice to have peace and quiet. In that way, maybe being a commoner was better.

Kitty stepped around an overflowing dust bin as she reached the door. She put her hand on the flaking paint. The door was battered and seemed rather neglected, all the money must have been spent on the magicians quarters, she thought.

"Figures." Kitty sighed, and gently turned the old brass doorknob.

She was about to open the door, when suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She had the feeling something was watching her.

Her heart sped up a notch, and she took her hand off the handle. Suddenly she had an overwhelming desire to be back among the noisy bustling of the magicians inside the well-lit main hall.

Kitty turned her head slowly. It seemed very dark all of a sudden. She squinted into the now menacing shadows of the space around her. What _was_ it?

A rustle behind her. She spun around. Resisting the urge to call out. Heart pumping even faster.

And then...A tap on her shoulder. The blood froze in her veins, and she almost dared not look behind her.

Only _almost_ though...

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**Sorry! That wasn't very good, but i was stuck for ideas, so...**

**Oh and thanks narinick! I hadn't realised that i'd got the names mixed up! i've changed it too Rebecca Piper now, I haven't read the books in like a year, so my memory of the characters is bad...**

**I'll try and update in the next couple of days, monday or tuesday night maybe.**


	5. What do you think you're doing?

**Oops! I just kinda spent all day writing the next chapter ... I spose I'd better post it then ...**

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**Kitty**

She spun round. Hands balled into fists, and leapt at the patch of darkness she saw. Whatever it was, she wasn't going down without a fight.

Kitty knocked into something soft and it toppled over. She landed on top of it and began to pummel it with her fists as it struggled to escape, throwing punches of its own.

_Strange_. She thought. _Surely it is a spirit of some kind, why is it not attacking magically?_ Did it know about her Resiliance?

One punch landed square on her jaw, and her head snapped back. Still she didn't move get off. _Mustn't give it any advantage._

Kitty opened her mouth to scream for help, when one of the creature's hands snaked up and secured itself over her mouth, she was about to shake it off, when she heard the voice.

"Kitty! What are you _doing_?!" It hissed. _Familiar..._

Where? _Where_ had she heard the voice before....

And then it hit her. Kitty suddenly stopped. Her mind went totally blank. It wasn't. It couldn't be...

The thing pushed her off and stood up. Kitty remained still, staring at nothing on the ground.

Then she glanced up at the figure.

"B-Bartimaeus...?" She just about managed to choke out. _Impossible._

But if he was already on Earth when she had summoned him...then...

Kitty could make out a vague sillhouette now, something about her size and human-looking.

The sillhouette put its hands on its hips.

"Of course it is, you _idiot_. Who else would it be? An assassin? You really think too highly of yourself, Kitty." The figure crouched down next to her. "And there I was thinking you'd be _glad_ to see me...but no! You attack me for christ's sake! A fine welcome, that one!"

Kitty rose on her haunches and shoved the boy over. Hiding her elation with anger.

"Well what were _you_ thinking? Sneaking up on me like that! A simple 'hello' would have been fine! Do you expect me to just turn round and shake the hand of whatever comes up behind me on a dark night?! Absolutely ridiculous!"

Bartimaeus brushed himself off and stood up. She did too.

"Still no reason to punch me! It could have been one of your friends for all you knew!" The boy looked rather peeved. "Although if _that's_ how you greet them there can't be many..."

Kitty scowled and crossed her arms.

"Hah! You can hardly talk! And _you_ punched _me_ back! I'm going to have a bruises all over my face tomorrow!"

"It's your fault for hitting me first!"

"You snuck up on me!"

"I didn't!"

"You _did_!"

"I _didn't_!

They both stood there for several moments. Breathing fast. Giving each other dagger looks.

And then.

Kitty stepped forward. And before she knew it Bartimaeus's arms were wrapped tightly around her in a fierce hug. She felt the tears coming again as she leant against him, but fought them back. She would _not_ cry in front of the djinni.

**Bartimaeus**

I couldn't believe it was _actually_ Kitty. Only a few hours ago I had been settling down for a _long_ rest in the Other Place, and thinking I would never see Kitty again...**_(Not just Kitty, mind you. I'm not getting attached or anything...Just before you get the wrong idea.) _And then I was summoned by that _maniac_...**

We both pulled out of the hug. I stared at her face, she looked a lot better than when I had last seen her; The lines were very faint on her face, the effects of the Other Place wearing off. Though her hair was still a silvery colour, not to mention her aura. I was almost blinded by it.

Kitty frowned, and I noticed that she was squinting at me. Well, it _was_ slightly dark I suppose...

"I can't believe it. You're alive!" She whispered. I couldn't help but be slightly pleased by the undisguised joy in her voice. I grabbed Kitty's arm, and we walked through the door, into the staff quarters. There were strange green smears all over her clothes. It looked like chalk. Had she been trying to summon--

No. Don't even think it.

I sighed. "Yes, only I'm not the only one who's still alive ... unfortunately."

She paused. "What?" Then shock on her face. I could have sworn her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. "You can't mean Nathaniel..." She glanced around quickly. Then whispered, "Is he here, Bartimaeus?"

Why did I feel a twisting in my essence when she said this? ...Must have been something I'd eaten.

"No. He's not here." I said. _**(Notice I didn't say that he was **_**dead**_**. Every time I did the person seemed to find some way to get revenge on me. I suppose I was becoming supersticious in my old age. Not that I'm**_** old**_** though, It's just a saying.)**_

Was it just me, or did she seem rather upset by this fact?

"Oh." Kitty said. "Well, who then?"

Ptolemy crossed his arms.

"Remember Nathaniel's face last time? It looked a bit like a wrinkly red tomato."

She nodded.

"Did he tell you who did it?"

She bit her lip. "He said it was the Pestilance. I assumed it was just something that happened when he got the staff and the amulet from the vault." Kitty tapped her foot impatiently. "Where is this going? Who was it?"

Despite myself, I had to laugh at her.

"Are you _actually_ tapping your foot? I thought people only did that in films!"

She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Bartimaeus! We have more important things to be worrying about right now"

Ptolemy held up his hands. "Fine, fine." I noticed she'd stopped tapping her foot though.

"So who is it?"

I whistled. "_Someone's_ impatient today. It was the mercenary. You might have heard of him."

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Just 'the mercenary'? Come _on_, Bartimaeus. What's his _name_?"

I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry, but I really don't know. I'm not psychic or anything. Amazing though I am."

At this she rolled her eyes again.

I unfolded my arms. "You know, if you keep rolling your eyes like that, they're gonna end up spinning a 360. Believe me, I've seen it happen." My voice was the epitome of seriousness.

Until Kitty punched me on the shoulder.

"Yeah, right." She took my hand and pulled me back toward the door. "Let's go." I was rather surprised by the contact. Humans usually treat spirits like we're contagious. As little touching as possible.

Kitty looked back at me. I realised I had stopped.

"What is it?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing, you're right; we need to go. I've got a bit of a problem that you _might_ be able to help me with. Emphasis on the 'might' though."

I could see she was about to roll her eyes again. But maybe she thought better of it.

The she smiled "So why are you stopping?"

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**Oh well, so that will not have been good. I've barely even read it through to see how it sounds ... what the heck, though! And I really haven't a clue when the next chapter will be up now. Could be a day, could be a week ... maybe a month ... lol, just kidding :D**


	6. What's that?

**Aaah! I'm so sorry! I took _ages_ to get this up. I just didn't really know what to write for this chapter, so I got a bit stuck...**

**Oh, and thanks ; I'm gonna try and sort out all the typos tomorrow :)**

**I'll just get on with it as quickly as possible then;**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Bartimaeus Trilogy. _*Darn it!*_**

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**Bartimaeus**

I have to say, Kitty sure had got a nice place since I'd last seen her. Big. So close to parliament that they were practically neighbours. Slight feeling of unease there.

I flopped down on the bed and yawned, glancing around.

"You're certainly buddying-up with the magicians now, aren't you?"

I took of the jacket that I was wearing in Ptolemy's form and tossed it over the end of the bedstead, before settling down with my hands behind my head. The bed was one of those huge, four poster, set-ups. Never really took a fancy to them myself. A bit outdated. Still, that's magicians for you. No _progress_.

Kitty frowned.

"No, I'm not." She walked into the kitchen, leaving the door open. I could see her setting a kettle on top of the stove.

Ptolemy raised an eyebrow.

"Then why can I see the edge of a pentacle under that carpet?"

Kitty set the kettle down and hurriedly busied herself with an array of pots and pans, for some reason her face was bright red. _**(I'll stop myself before I go and describe another person's face as looking like a tomato. We don't want to start a tradition here.)**_

I sat up. "Well?" I said, in my most authoritative voice. _(You pick different tones up over the years, it's quite useful...Honest...)_

She shook her head, and then carried on with what she had been doing, countering with a question of her own.

"Why's it so important? Not jealous of me summoning someone else are you?"

I laughed wryly. "Hah! Me? Bartimaeus of Uruk. Sakhr-al-djinni. of Al-Arish! Jealous? Of some stupid imp? Don't make me laugh!" _**(This was obviously a rather pointless statement, considering I was already laughing. Rather loudly.)**_

Kitty put her hands on her hips.

"Who said it was an imp!"

"No one," I scoffed. "It's just _you_ could hardly summon any being of any merit."

Kitty was getting angry. Again.

"Why not! I summoned_ you_, didn't I?"

I raised my nose.

"Only because I _allowed_ you to. You should be grateful."

Kitty snorted. "Oh, _please, _Bartimaeus. Any fool with a bit of chalk could summon _you_!"

I was on the the verge of what, obviously, would have been a very witty retort _(Really. You'd be splitting your sides laughing if you knew what it was - Not literally of course, that would be messy.)_; When the kettle, left unattended, boiled over. Spilling hissing bubbles of water out of the spout, sizzling all over the hob. Kitty ran to take it off the oven. Effectively putting an end to our argument.

She came back a minute later with a cup of tea. None for me, of course.

Kitty sat down in the chair by the bed with the mug, taking a long swig, and passed a hand across her face. I suddenly saw how tired she looked. Maybe the effects of her trip to the Other Place hadn't quite worn off yet.

I almost had second thoughts about what I had to tell her. She'd been through enough as it was. But then I shook my head. I knew no one else who could help, and Kitty would want to know.

Or would she? Would she prefer if I left her alone?

For some reason that thought hurt.

Ptolemy sat up on the edge of the bed and rested his chin in one hand. We both sat still for a few moments. Kitty absent-mindedly stirring her cup of tea, me staring vacantly into space.

She took a sip from the mug.

"So I assume there actually _was _something you needed to tell me. Or were you just in the mood for an argument?"

I continued to stare intently at the pattern on the wallpaper.

"There was _in fact_. I don't spend all my time planning how to annoy you--"

She laughed once. "Could've fooled me!"

"--And _if _you would allow me to continue speaking--"

"That's rich! Coming from you!"

"--Then I could tell you that the reason I am here is because I have been summoned by the mercenary--"

I held up a hand as Kitty opened her mouth again.

**Kitty**

She knew she should be annoyed with Bartimaeus, she _should_ be. But she couldn't bring herself to stay angry. She still couldn't believe he was _alive_. And that he was _here_ in her house.

The Egyptian boy lowered his hand, and waited a second, as if she would say something, before continuing.

"He wants revenge for what Nathaniel and I did to him two months ago, and times before that..."

Bartimaeus paused again, and looked at her.

Kitty folded her arms.

"I'm not going to interrupt. Get on with it."

Was that a smile? No. Kitty almost shook her head. _He's a demon, he's a demon, he's a demon..._

"And he's cast a spell of Indefinite Confinement, which—"

"What's that?" Kitty asked.

Bartimaeus grinned.

"What was that about not interrupting?"

_Demon, demon, demon..._

Kitty huffed.

"Carry on, then."

The Egyptian boy stood up and bent in a mock bow.

"Yes, of course. And would madam like another cup of tea, as well?"

Kitty laughed and tossed a pillow in Bartimaeus's face. He smiled and sat back down.

"The spell of Indefinite Confinement is an enchantment of a fairly simple level. Basically, it is a binding, an entrapment, that can be placed on any object. The spell can bind a spirit to the object, and after a time, alotted by the magician, said spirit will become trapped inside this object. This time, it is a silver card case. But I've also had a pot of jam, and a tobacco tin, in my time."

Kitty frowned.

"So how long have you got until it takes effect. I mean, it could happen any minute."

Bartimaeus shook his head.

"No, no. He instructed it to take effect exactly 12 hours after my arrival on Earth. Told me himself. Probably because he thinks he has nothing to worry about. That's where he's wrong."

Kitty nodded. "So we have twelve hours? That's plenty of time."

He glanced at the clock. "Actually now, its probably more like _10_ hours now. I came to you because I need a human who has contacts in Parliament. If we can find the mercenary in time, he can be forced to negate the summons, or a least the spell of Indefinite Confinement, then I won't be spending the next thousand years of my life in a rubbish tip." At the idea, Bartimaeus's nose wrinkled up and he shuddered. "Landfills are not nice places."

"And you know this because....?" Kitty tailed off expectantly.

The boy chuckled.

"Trust me, you _don't_ want to know."

Kitty had the feeling that she would probably agree with him. So she turned her mind back to the matter in hand.

She looked down at her hands.

"So how do you expect me to find him? Surely someone other than a commoner would be slightly more efficient..."

Bartimaeus cocked his head to one side.

"I'm sure they would. Less lippy too. But I don't _trust_ someone other than a certain commoner."

Kitty glanced up from the minute examination of her nails. Her eyes meeting Bartimaeus's.

"Oh...um...well..."

Not for the first time, she found herself marvelling at the depth of those eyes. There was something altogether otherworldly about them. They remained the same, no matter what his guise.

Bartimaeus stared back at her. What was he thinking? Was it anything like what she was?

There followed several minutes of silence. Which neither of them seemed to know how to break.

Finally, broke his gaze away from Kitty's.

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Um...So, I was _hoping_ that you might be able to enlist the help of the Night Police, or look through some records, call in a couple of favours. That shouldn't be too hard. Considering the fact that most of them owe you their lives after Nouda. Then again, magicians are a complete mystery to me still..."

Kitty broke away from her reverie. _This was not __the time_.

And then she had an idea.

She grinned at Bartimaeus, and he looked rather confused.

"What is it?"

Kitty stood up.

"I _think_ I might know what to do..."

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**Well, I promise I'll try and put the next chapter up by this time next week, or before! If there's any stuff you think I should change or could be better (which in my opinion is quite a lot...) please say, and then I can change it. :D **

**bye xx**


	7. You call that a plan?

***Sheepish* Um...sorry? I can't believe I haven't updated for TWO AND A HALF MONTHS!! I got really stuck on this chapter, and then I kinda...gave up on it...sorry, i'm just too lazy like that...**

**So, this is kinda a last minute chapter, because I sat down at the computer and just thought, _I am going to do it, and I am NOT getting up until I've done it!_ Which, when you haven't eaten all day, is a pretty good threat :P I'm kinda rusty with the whole thing now though, so I'm sorry for any OOC-ness, which there probably is a lot of - I can never tell if there is when I read my own stuff...odd.**

**Anyway, I won't keep you any longer, as you're probably about to go on a war path (maybe I should be running now?)**

**Disclaimer: Everyone knows I don't own the series, at least everyone with half a brain cell (maybe not _everyone_ then...) so let's just get on with it!**

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**Kitty**

The magicians stood in the crowded Houses of Parliament, surrounding a slightly raised platform on which the newest Prime Minister stood, making his first public speech. The first few rows of magicians listened with eager attentiveness, hanging on his every word, nodding their heads so much some were starting to get neck cramps.

Kitty entered at the back of the room, surrounded by the more senior magicians. Eyelids drooping, some even openly yawning as the speech wore on. The truth was, the country had had so many new Prime Ministers in the last month, that many of the people in this room would be hard pressed to remember this one's name, let alone any of the others'.

"Excuse me." Kitty slipped between two men who looked as if they would drop off at any minute, leaning on each other for support. Sad, really. The magicians really were in a decline. She elbowed past a group who seemed to be conducting their own meeting regardless of the Prime Minister's speech which, it seemed, had turned to the importance of the thickness of window panes.

A few more elbows and a couple of angry glances later, Kitty stood by an exit on the opposite side of the room. Now all she had to do was wait.

Half an hour later and Kitty herself was starting to feel a bit drowsy. The speech had moved off the subject of window panes, and onto bus timetables. Interesting stuff.

But where was--?

_CRASH!_

The glass of one of the room's windows exploded, shattering razor shards of glass all over the floor. And revealing a figure.

People screamed. Glass crunched under their shoes as they ran for the exits. A dark red afrit appeared by the Prime Minister's side, hurling a Detonation at the silhouette in the window, and erecting a Shield around its master. Various other spirits of different levels also materialised, launching their own assaults at the figure. Ear splitting explosions filled the air. Smoke and fire blocking any view to be had of the intruder.

Abruptly the volleys stopped, and everyone stood, waiting to see whatever it was.

The smoke from the attacks cleared, and several collective gasps could be heard from the magicians. This was not a face they had expected to see again. Never again.

Honorius. Gladstone's staff in his hand.

The demon stood still, skeleton's face permanently twisted up into a leering grimace, a few strips of rags all that was left of Gladstone's robes. Honorius leant casually on the staff.

"Thought you'd got rid of me, did you?"

The Prime Minister pointed calmly at the demon.

"Kill it."

The red afrit sprang forward immediately, a Detonation ready in its hand. Honorius cackled and leapt at it, sending the Detonation crashing into a gaggle of imps who were in the process of debating whether to join in. There was an explosion and the shrieks and wails filled the room.

Immediately the other demons leapt into action. Honorius had thrown off the afrit, sending it into a crowd of magicians and knocking them over like skittles, but he suddenly disappeared again under another volley of attacks.

Kitty didn't stay and watch. After one quick glance back at the struggle with Honorius, she opened the exit door she had been standing by earlier and slid through carefully. None of the magicians noticed, they were to busy running around in an utter panic, and heading for the main door.

As the door closed behind her, Kitty stole one last look back, and a brief frown line creased her forehead as another dozen demons leapt on top of Honorius.

**Bartimaeus**

Sometimes, I'm not too keen on Kitty's ideas.

This was one of those times.

I spun and threw off an imp that had grabbed me from behind using a quick shield to send the other spirits around me flying away. A couple of foliots had teamed together and were coming towards me at the same time. Obviously they thought I couldn't see them. Hah.

I put in a sufficiently Honorius-like cackle and sent a huge detonation down the 'staff' blasting them away. At the same moment, the afrit appeared out of nowhere and barreled into me, sending us both out of the window. Ouch.

Scratch that. I _hate_ Kitty's ideas.

We crashed to the floor, the afrit on top of me.

"A bit intimate for the first date, don't you think?" I grinned. Skulls are good at grinning. Figures.

She growled and leapt off me, readying another detonation. "Ooh, touchy." I cackled. Skulls are good at cackling too.

I quickly took advantage of the afrit's brief distraction, swinging the staff round and cracking her in the head. She had a rather shocked look on her face as she fell back

Before the afrit got up again, I turned tail and sprinted as fast as this decrepit guise would go, which admittedly ... Wasn't very fast at all, but hey, it could be worse.

...Ever find that the second you think that, it gets worse?

Yeah. _**(And if that wasn't clue enough for you; It **_**had **_**just got worse. A lot worse.)**_

Right then. As I ran back past the doors of parliament,_** (Admittedly, not my best idea when it was full of angry magicians baying for my blood...but hey, where's the fun in playing it safe?) **_what had to be at least fifteen afrits leapt out and simultaneously threw fifteen Detonations straight at me.

Now, of course, had I been in any guise but this one I could easily have dodged the Detonations and sent my own back with good measure, obviously. But as it was, I was stuck in this form until Kitty was out.

'Honorius' leapt up into the air, grabbing hold of a dustbin lid on the way. I pulled it under my feet and angled towards the oncoming Detonations. Time for my dramatic exit.

I fell back down for about half a second, but then the Detonations hit. I swear, if I was human, I would have shattered every bone in my legs. As it was, my essence quavered dangerously, and I wobbled, almost falling off.

But then, as the impact was absorbed by the lid the force of the blasts, I suddenly shot up into the sky, powering away faster than the afrits could fly after me.

Kitty could learn a thing or two from me about ideas.

Speaking of Kitty...

My eyes searched the rapidly retreating building for any sign that she had gotten out.

Nothing.

I felt an weird panging feeling in my chest when I didn't see anything of her. Odd. My essence was probably still a little shaky from the blast. Yeah, that was it.

There!

Down by some stacks of bins,_** (Boy, was she moving up in the world...) **in an_ alleyway a few streets from parliament. She was only a tiny pinprick from this distance, but I knew it was her.

I angled the bin lid down to earth

*****************

"Interesting." Was the only thing Kitty said as I crashed to the floor, maybe not quite as dignified as I would have hoped, sending the mangled dustbin lid skittering away across the tarmac. I quickly slipped back into Ptolemy's guise. Arms folded.

"After all that work," I said, brushing myself down as I stood up. "You'd better have the records."

She silently held out a thick file. I snatched it away from her, scanning the pages.

I laughed out loud as I read. "Kitty, you're brilliant!"

Without really thinking, which is odd for me, I grabbed her and hugged her fiercly. She seemed surprised for a moment, then hugged me too.

We stayed like that for several seconds, when I suddenly came to my senses. I drew back, and cleared my throat awkwardly.

I saw some unknown emotion linger on Kitty's face for a few seconds before it changed to a smug grin.

"So my idea wasn't _so_ bad after all."

I handed the file back to her imperiously and walked past.

"Well, it could have been worse."

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**So there it is! Sorry its so rough and all, _please, please, PLEASE,_ tell me where it's all wrong so I can sort it out as much as possible!**

**I give you my word that there will be another chapter by at least sunday next week. Scout's honour. (Kidding lol)**

**Bye xxx**


	8. Going crazy? Apparently

**Helloooo again! Oops, a day late! I bet you thought I'd forgotten again, but nope, no such luck! (Sorry I'm a bit hyper, its the holidays :D) **

**I won't keep you any longer, sooo.......**

**Disclaimer: I _do _own the Bartimaeus Trilogy, all three books! But I'm not Jonathan Stroud, so I guess I don't own them in the sense you mean...Oh well, a girl can dream...**

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**Bartimaeus**

We arrived back at Kitty's apartment, out of the window several spirits could still be seen circling the houses of Parliament, searching for the rogue afrit. Unfortunately for them, all that was left of Honorius was a few scraps of material in the back alley of a street. And maybe a slightly mangled dustbin lid. Maybe.

Kitty dumped the files on the floor and headed back into the kitchen to put the kettle on. Again. Something was wrong with that girl.

I plopped myself down on the sofa, looking round for something to do while I waited. In my time I've learnt not to stand in the way of a human and their cup of tea, it can get nasty. My eyes fell on the badly scrubbed out edges of the pentacle again. I rested my chin in my hand.

"So who _were_ you planning on summoning? seeing as I'm so worthless no one in their right mind would want to summon me." _**(There is obviously an enormous amount of sarcasm in that statement. Me? Worthless? Don't even think it.)**_

Kitty went bright red again, like before. Hmm...

"Shouldn't we be searching through those files I found?" She poured the boiling water into a mug and added the tea bag, keeping her face turned away slightly.

I was interested now.

"Nu-uh. I want to know what could be so embarrassing that even the great Kitty goes as red as Nathaniel when someone makes fun of his tie."

"I am not red!" She protested, her face betraying her by going even redder.

Ptolemy chuckled. "Oh really?"

"Really! Now we need to check these-"

"Ooh, changing the subject again!" I slipped into the form on an old, scholarly-like magician I had had the 'pleasure' of serving only about a hundred years ago,_** (Not that it could really be called 'serving'. Seeing as it lasted all of ten seconds; one of those magicians every spirit actually hopes for – The one who makes a mistake in the summoning – A quick snack then straight back to the Other Place. A bit like your fast food. Except slightly bonier. And with glasses.) **_and waggled a finger at Kitty. "I think you're hiding something, Miss Jones."

"Am not!"

"Then why are you stirring a boiling hot tea with your finger? Is that a new hobby of yours?"

"What? I'm no-" Kitty looked down at her hand and yelped as she realised I was right. _**(Not that there is any possibility of me not being right...****) **_She dropped the mug back onto the counter and thrust her finger under the cold tap, turning it up to full blast. "Shoot."

I laughed, biting back an extremely witty retort _**(How's that for restraint?) **_and slid back into Ptolemy's form, getting up from the sofa.

"Well, if you won't tell me, I can find out myself."

Kitty had started drinking her tea but suddenly choked on the mouthful, coughing and spluttering rather comically.

"What? You can't!"

I knelt down and placed a hand on the remains of the pentacle.

"Oh, I think I can. Now let's see..."

Even I couldn't anticipate what happened next. Kitty dropped the mug of tea once again. She sprinted across the room and barrelled into me. We both went skidding across the floor until my back slammed into the wall. Ow. "What the-?" I spluttered. "I was joking..."

Kitty frowned._ "What?" _She hissed. And it was then I realised just how close our faces were, Kitty lying almost on top of me, my back still pressed uncomfortably against the wall. I could smell her breath; tea and honey, and I felt a strange quivering in my essence. Something was seriously wrong with me.

_Crash!_

The mug slipped off the edge of the counter where it had been balanced precariously, shattering on the floor and sending boiling tea shooting over the floor.

The sound seemed to wake me up, Kitty too. She quickly got up, rushing over to the soggy mess. Not saying anything. I shook my head. What was _that_? I really needed to get back to the Other Place before I lost it completely.

In my tactful and most subtle way, I decided to change the subject.

"Uh...About those files..."

**Kitty**

"_What?" _Kitty hissed, feeling her face red with fury. She stared angrily at Bartimaeus, or at least, that was the idea. But when she looked into those dark eyes she saw some kind of emotion that hadn't been there before. Once again she was struck by the depth of those eyes, so black but still with emotion. Where before he had seemed almost alien to her, now this new emotion made him look...almost human. Kitty felt herself subconsciously leaning closer, to that kind of _other_, infinitely deep black, she would recognise it anywhere. It _was _Bartimaeus. No matter what form he was in, the eyes stayed the same.

_Crash!_

Her cup of tea fell off the counter and Kitty jerked back, realising how close she had come to...to...

She leapt up, not looking back to see what Bartimaeus was doing. What was she _thinking_? He was a djinn, a _demon_, he might seem human, but he wasn't.

Kitty didn't dare turn round, didn't want to see his reaction. She shook her head in frustration. He probably hadn't even noticed.

Then she heard him clear his throat awkwardly.

"Uh...A-About those files..."

Bartimaeus never stuttered.

He'd noticed.

* * *

Kitty was curled up on the sofa, surrounded by papers, with Bartimaeus lying on the floor holding a thick file up to read. She'd read the same sentence five times in the last ten minutes, it just wasn't going into her brain. She heard Bartimaeus turn a page and sigh in frustration.

Her eyelids felt _so_ heavy, and the room was _so _warm.

The page in front of her slowly darkened...

Her eyes started to flutter shut...

"_Got _it!" Shouted Bartimaeus exuberantly, leaping up. Kitty jerked in surprise and fell off the sofa, sending stacks of paper toppling on top of her.

"BARTIMAEUS!!" She yelled, on fire with the urge to punch him in the face.

Bartimaeus doubled over laughing, dropping the file on the floor.

"Sometimes I just _wish_ I owned a video camera! You should really consider a career in comedy before you set your mind on being a magician."

Kitty threw off the papers.

"I am _not _a magician!"

Bartimaeus stifled a laugh and picked the file up again. Turning serious.

"Sure, you just keep telling yourself that, Kitty. But right now I kind of want to focus on how to stop myself becoming the newest arrival in London's biggest landfill, if you don't mind."

Kitty was about to carry on, but then she bit her lip. They had more important things to do.

"So what did you find then?"

The Egyptian boy looked proud and drew himself up.

"_Well_, with my amazing detective and sleuth work I have uncovered the name of our mercenary."

He paused.

"And...?" Kitty asked impatiently.

Bartimaeus chuckled.

"You're going to love this."

* * *

**Wow, that was a difficult chapter to write...Maybe I'm just lazy =)**

**Either way...**

**I'll update soon.**

**Bye xx**


	9. Uh, You were saying?

**Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry one million times over!!! I feel so unbelievably awful for taking FOUR MONTHS to update a story. You guys should hate me. _I _ hate me right now. Worst thing is I've had most of this chapter on my laptop since a few hours after I wrote chapter 8. I SERIOUSLY suck with coming up with ideas...**

**Thank you sooo much for actually bothering to still review even though I didn't post for months! It made me feel unbearably guilty seeing all the reviews from you guys and knowing that I was just so lazy that I hadn't written another chapter. And hey, it worked - I FINALLY finished. If anyone hasn't told you already; you guys rock :D**

**Anyway I'll get out of you're way before I get mauled by an angry mob. Disclaimer, blah, blah, blah, "enjoy the chapter" etc. I'll go now. *Backs out of room***

**

* * *

  
**

**Kitty**

This sparked Kitty's interest.

"Well, what's his name? Tell me!"

Ptolemy grinned evilly, and Kitty got the feeling Bartimaeus was enjoying the suspense. "Bartimaeus." She growled dangerously. "Tell me already!"

He held up his hands.

"Whoa, whoa, no need to get to worked up about it. Besides, technically, you already know him."

Kitty frowned.

"Do I?"

Bartimaeus nodded, a grin Kitty wasn't entirely sure that she liked on his face.

"Quite well actually. I believe you worked as his assistant for several months, quite a cushy job considering I was being worked to the bone by the "great magician" Nathaniel at the time." The small Egyptian boy made quotation marks in the air. Kitty found it odd that his attitude towards Nathaniel seemed to remain unchanged, even if the magician had possibly saved them all. Not bad. Just odd.

What Bartimaeus had just said wormed its way into her head.

"Wait, _what_?" Kitty's eyes widened and she grabbed for the sheet of paper Bartimaeus was holding. He snatched it away, and Kitty was too stunned to bother trying again. "You mean my...my..." Kitty looked up at Bartimaeus. "You're lying, right?"

The Egyptian boy put on a pained expression.

"You know it really does hurt my feelings that you would think that, I'm not _all _bad..."

Kitty snorted.

"Sure, right. I'll have to remember that when you next warn me that you're a dangerous demon who could devour me without a second's hesitation."

Bartimaeus chuckled quietly and Kitty felt her stomach do a back flip. She must not have eaten in a while...

"Anyway," He squinted at the piece of paper, "It _does _say it right here. A Mr H Button recently entered the vaults under parliament and withdrew an item from Lovelace's collection for 'research'. I'll give you one guess what it was."

Kitty's mouth fell open.

Bartimaeus continued. "I'll take it you understand, judging by that poor impression of a fish that you're attempting. Anyway, it says here that the item was taken out just earlier today. Not enough time for our 'mercenary' to have stolen it undetected and prepared the summoning of a highly prestigious djinni, such as I. So, I'm guessing your old master, Mr Button, is the guy we're looking for. Which makes life pretty simple. I mean, he still lives in the same place, right?"

Kitty nodded, mouth still agape.

"So, all we need to do is pop over to dear old Mr Button's apartment, knock on the door, and find some way to force the old codger to undo the indefinate confinement before I go on a nice long trip to the local landfill. Simple."

Bartimaeus looked very proud of himself, eyes glinting. He leapt up from the sofa which Kitty had recently vacated. "Lets go!" In his excitement he grabbed Kitty's hand, dragging her towards the door. Kitty ignored the tingle that shot through her hand at up the length of her arm. _I'm just tired. _

Something was wrong with this.

She shook her head, trying to forget about her surprise, and focussed on the plan, glancing quickly at the clock. She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat.

"Small problem Bartimaeus."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Kitty bit her lip. "We've got an hour."

**Bartimaeus**

Kitty walked down the quiet night street towards Button's apartment. I was hidden just inside her ear as a flea. She batted at it uncomfortably.

"You couldn't hide somewhere else could you? It itches like crazy." She hissed. Emphasizing her point by shaking her head vigourously, and I dug in to stop from going on a nice little trip to the pavement. _**(Hiding in people's ears: Not recommended. I suffer for my genius.)**_

"No. And stay still. It's bad enough having to do this in the first place without you shaking up all the stuff in here. Humans are disgusting."

Kitty snorted. "Like you're any better."

"At least I'm not the one walking down an abandoned street in the middle of the night talking to myself like a lunatic."

She huffed and didn't say anything. One-nil to the ever amazing djinni.

Kitty turned into a drive to a house that looked exactly the same as every other one on the street. "How can you even be sure he _is _this mercenary guy. I mean, I've seen him and they look completely different."

I tutted, which is difficult to do when you're a tick, I'll admit.

"And you think _I_ really look like this? Obviously not – I'm far more handsome." She snorted. I ignored her. "And _you_, I mean, you were a complete wreck earlier. I wouldn't be able to believe it now if I hadn't seen just how much slap you--"

At this Kitty tilted her head slamming her hand down on her other ear creating a draft which shoved me out and onto the aforementioned pavement.

She crossed her arms as I shifted to Ptolemy. Sitting on the pavement in a very dignified manner.

"What was that for?!"

Kitty raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

I stood up and brushed myself off _**(And trust me you do**_** not**_** want to know what I was covered in. I mean I have a pretty tough stomach by your standards and it still made me feel a bit queasy) **_"Well, this isn't going to work if I don't get in that house!"

Still nothing.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. I broke first. Stupid, stubborn human.

"Fine, fine. I'm _sorry_. Now can we _please_ hurry up before the clock strikes twelve on this little mission. Literally."

Kitty smiled sweetly, and evilly. At the same time. Now that's talent.

"Your welcome. Nice to know three thousand years of life hasn't been entirely wasted. You have _some _manners after all." I opened my mouth to protest, but Kitty cut me off. _Again._ _**(Seriously, is **_**no one**_** scared of me anymore?)**_ She gestured at her ear. "Come on then, Cinderella."

I shifted back to the flea and hopped into her ear again, all the while saying nothing in what was a _very _dignified manner, I assure you.

Kitty chuckled, and turned up Mr Button, or the mercenary's, drive. Walking right up to the small, unremarkable front door. She raised her hand to the bell, but paused, inches away.

I would have frowned if I'd had eyebrows, or even a forehead.

"What is it?"

Kitty looked down.

"Um...if something happens, you know, if this doesn't work...I just wanted to...I wanted to say..."

For some reason I found my essence tingling. Don't ask me why, Earth does all sorts of funny stuff to us spirits.

Kitty carried on. "I wanted to say-"

Suddenly I remembered something, something Kitty had said...

Wait a second...

"Did you just call me _Cinderella_? Seriously? Are you kidding?!"

Kitty stopped what she was saying and her shoulders slumped. For some reason I suddenly felt _really_ bad. Yeah, me, Bartimaeus of Uruk, Sahkr-Al-Djinni, felt really, _really_ bad _about interrupting_ someone. What had she been about to say?

"Ummm..." Was all I managed before Kitty interjected.

She pressed down hard on the doorbell, sending an echoing ring throughout the darkened building. "No time. We've only got half an hour to get that box."

* * *

**I know NOTHING is worth a four month wait, but hey, it's something. **

**I swear on my life i _will_ update by...let's say two weeks at the _very_ latest. I ABSOLUTELY promise, or you guys are allowed to hunt me down and kill me. :P**

**Just three more sorrys and i'll get back to writing:**

**Sorry, sorry _sorry_**

**See you in _a few weeks_!**

**bye xxx**


	10. Why are you here?

**ummm...no comment? You can officially hunt me down and kill me now...**

**Kitty**

A small, wizened old man opened the door at Kitty's knock. He had a frown on his face and looked as if he was about to say something when suddenly he took stock of who was in front of him, and he broke into a beaming grin.

"Lizzy! Why on earth are you here? I have seen you since...well, since before the Nouda incident two months ago!"

The old man seemed genuinely overjoyed to see her and, despite herself, Kitty had missed her bustling old master during the past few months. She felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, but she stopped it dead.

He was the one trying to kill Bartimaeus.

He was a fraud and a liar.

He was a monster.

Kitty gritted her teeth and forced herself to reply.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry, sir," She was surprised at the collected tone of her voice as she spoke. "But as a matter of fact I need to talk to you about the 'Nouda Incident'" Kitty found herself putting slightly sarcastic tones to those last words and quickly reminded herself _not _to start insulting the man who was about to trap Bartimaeus inside a tiny, metal tin...

Mr Button, the mercenary, looked at her suspiciously, and she saw him take half a step back, moving the door slightly between them.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?"

Kitty had only been focussing on getting inside the house and hadn't really thought about what she was going to say. She bit her lip surreptitiously, and she saw the small man's eyes start to narrow.

_Here goes nothing..._

"Uh...I don't really know how to say this, but...well, is it possible for a commoner to be a magician as well, sir? Only I...I think I've summoned a demon."

At least Kitty didn't have to act to look nervous, she just showed her emotions, most of which involved her turn tail and running for her life down the nearest street. The only thing that kept her rooted to the spot was the reassuring itch of Bartimaeus in her ear.

Kitty thought she saw a flash of something in the man's eyes, but if she had it disappeared immediately as 'Mr Button's' eyes widened in shock. He opened the door widely.

"Oh, my poor girl, you must be _terrified_. I can only imagine...Well, lets get you a nice cup of tea and you can tell me all about it." He gestured for Kitty to enter, which she did. Mr Button closed the door behind her and shuffled down the hall that was so familiar to Kitty, even now.

He glanced over his shoulder at her as he led her into the living room. "So what is it? An imp, foliot...a djinn?" Kitty could have sworn that the mercenary was looking right at her ear – Bartimaeus's hiding place – When he said it. Mr Button continued on without pause. "And what _on earth _were you thinking even _attempting _a summoning ritual? You should know from seeing my work just how dangerous they are. I assume you have not brought the demon with you?"

Kitty hurriedly replied. "No, of course not. It has orders to remain inside the summoning circle...that will keep it in place, won't it?" She sat down on one of the living room's sagging armchairs, sinking in so far that her the balls of her feet had to stretch to touch the floor. Mr Button frowned and bustled into the small adjoining kitchen, pouring water from the tap into a scratched old whistling kettle.

As soon as Mr Button's back was turned, Kitty heard Bartimaeus's voice in her ear;

"I know your conversational skills pale in comparison to my silver tongue. But try and keep him in here for ten minutes, yes?" Kitty nodded sharply. There was a muffled squeak inside her ear. "Don't _do _that! Seriously, sometimes I wonder how you even get out of bed in the morning! If it just-"

"Bartimaeus!" Kitty hissed through her teeth, glancing pointedly over at Mr Button.

He stopped. "Oh, right. Better get going then."

"Yes, you should."

"So...I'm leaving now. Don't forget; ten-"

"_Bartimaeus. _Go already!"

She heard a huff of indignation and almost laughed in spite of herself.

"_Fine._ I know where I'm not wanted."

She felt a tickling sensation in her ear and with that Bartimaeus was gone.

**Bartimaeus**

Still in flea form, _**(Me and my ego were going to have to have a **_**serious **_**talk after this.) **_I hopped out of the living room leaving Kitty with the mercenary. A felt a twinge in my essence when I thought that. I _needed _to get back to the Other Place, something strange was going on.

But not now. _Now _ I needed to concentrate and find that silver box before I end up very well aquainted with various crisp packets for the next several centuries _**(How's **_**that**_** for motivation?). **_

So I hopped towards the staircase, checking all seven planes for some form of magical defence. None. Just a wobbly bottom step and a bedraggled looking banister. Not exactly the most, _effective _defenses I've ever seen. But still, I skirted round a few more times before shifting into the guise of a tabby cat and climbing up, missing the bottom step for good measure. _**(No, I'm not paranoid. I just happen to have gained a little common sense in my long life. A creaky step makes a lot of noise. You laugh now, but not all spirits are as sharp as me)**_

At the top of the stairs I was confronted with four choices; down the hall, a door on my left, a door on my right, or back down the staircase and as far away from here as possible. I sniffed the air, the cat's nose picking up the scent of tea, mould, paper, and...chalk.

That's _it. _

I padded lightly towards the door on my left, following my nose after the smell of chalk.

Ah. Problem.

Not only was the door locked, it looked to be made of some kind of strange, reinforced metal, completely out of character with the mercenary's little-old-man style house.

But that wasn't the problem. The problem was the Shields, Wards and Detonations placed layer after layer all over the door, power emanating from it in waves so strong I took one minute step back. Give me some credit, I may be an almighty djinni but this had to be the work of a high class afrit at least. Opening that door would set off all kinds of alarms. Not to mention enough Detonations to bring down the whole house, and the neighbours'.

I shouldn't open it. I really, really shouldn't.

Which meant there was no way in heck I wasn't going to.

I slipped into Ptolemy's form, and placed my hand on the door handle. The lock would be easy, whoever placed the spells on this door, had known that they should have been deterrent enough. But, hey, I live for the risk.

Before opening the door I patted the pocket of the jacket Ptolemy was wearing, checking that my precious cargo was still there. I was definitely going to need it.

Bracing my self, I walked back a few steps, checked my watch, and then ran forward, slamming all my weight into the door. The hinges gave way and snapped off. I flew into the room and ran straight to where I saw the small, silver box. It was sitting in plain sight on a desk on the other side of a complicated summoning circle. My gaze brushed over it as I ran past.

I stopped in my tracks. _Oh no._

That was the summoning circle of a marid. And if that much power was in those Detonations, they wouldn't only destroy the entire street. But I was betting everyone in it was pretty much toast.

That was exactly when the Detonations set off.

I dived for the silver box, reaching it as the power of the explosion propelled me forward. At the same time I felt a tugging on my essence. Time up.

I felt myself being compressed by the spell of Indefinite Confinement, I would escape the blast.

I only hoped Kitty found some way out.

* * *

**Sorry doesn't even cover it, I know, i feel so stupid for once again just _not _finishing the flipping chapter when most of it's on my computer already. I think i'm just the laziest person that ever lived... **

**Bye xx**


	11. Seriously, again?

**So here we are again with me feeling very sheepish about my absolutely terrible lack of motivation. But hey, the chapters here now, right? And i'm alreadly working on the next one as a special treat for the Bank Holiday ^.^**

**Thanks for all the reveiws guys,(especially LM1991, OceanMist, Fivellion (Your comment made me laugh ^.^) and Random-Inspired) i swear without them i would NEVER get off my lazy butt and bother to write the next chapter! **

**DISCLAIMER..yada, yada...enjoy! :D**

* * *

**Kitty**

Kitty was sitting, sipping at a scalding hot tea and trying to appear casual when she found herself flying through the air.

Kitty's first thought was; _This is it, I've died. Somehow, I'm dead._ The only thing she could be pleased about was that she didn't seem to be falling down to the depths of Hell. Then she landed. Hard. Face down, on a bed of churned up asphalt.

For a few minutes Kitty's brain didn't register what had happened. She was still flying through the air, world spinning around her. She took a deep breath in to steady herself and choked on a lungful of smoke. Kitty levered herself up onto her elbows and stared around her with watering eyes.

The world was grey. Heaving masses of thick, suffocating smoke swirled around her, and the road underneath her looked as though it had been scraped through with a giant rake. She pulled her knees forward and slowly stood up, wincing as pain lanced up her left arm. She looked down at it and almost hit the asphalt a second time.

A huge, jagged shard of metal as long as her forearm was buried in her skin, her hand hung limply at her side. Numb. Kitty's immediate urge was to pull out the metal, but that could only make it worse. She gritted her teeth and held her arm against her stomach, fighting back a wave of nausea. She didn't have time for this, there was something important to do.

Important. _Bartimaeus._

I was like a million lights had gone off in Kitty's brain as she suddenly remembered. She glanced desperately at the tattered remains of her watch. _What time is it? It must be too late. _

No. She would find him. Bartimaeus wouldn't give up on her, and she certainly wasn't just going to give up on him.

Kitty lurched forwards. Squinting with her streaming eyes through the thinning smoke.

She didn't know how long she stumbled through the burning wreckage surrounding her, occasionally stopping as she doubled over in fits of coughing, screaming out Bartimaeus's name in her weakened, croaking voice. She began to doubt whether she had survived, surely this was Hell. Every moment felt like an eternity, though it could only have been about half an hour before she tripped through yet another layer of smog and saw clear sky above her. The full moon shone down on the surface of the Thames in front of her, lighting up the night.

Kitty drew in her first easy breath and broke into a shambling run towards the riverside. _Water_, was her only thought.

Her only thought, until a pile of rags came to life.

Kitty was beyond anything but mild annoyance.

_Seriously? _Was her first thought, _can't he ever just be _dead_? _She found her lack of fear almost comical, after all, this guy was one of the most dangerous magicians alive, even though he was supposed to be dead. _Again._

The mercenary rose unsteadily to his feet, leaning on the top of what used to be a wall around the port. Kitty saw that he was in even worse shape than she was, bleeding from several major wounds on his chest. He chuckled painfully, though it came out as more of a gurgle.

"I knew why you showed up at my house. Do you really think I'm so _stupid?_" He rasped, spitting the last word out venemously. "I just didn't realise what an idiot that demon really is."

Kitty's heart clenched at the mention of Bartimaeus. _Is? Does that mean he's still here?...somewhere. _She took a cautious step towards the mercenary.

"You know where Bartimaeus is? Tell me. You're in no condition to threaten me." Her voice came out steadier than she'd hoped.

The mercenary tutted and dug a hand into his pocket, digging around.

"And you're threatening me? I think not _little girl_, not when I have exactly what you want." He drew something out of his jacket, and the glint of silver from Lovelace's silver card case made Kitty's heart leap into her throat. She rushed towards the mercenary, only to come to a juddering halt as he suspended the case over the edge of the dock.

He tutted. "What's to stop me throwing this _thing_ in the river? One stop closer and you'll find out."

Kitty glared at the man before her, hate in her eyes, and said nothing.

The mercenary continued. "You'd be better off, you know, if _he _was to disappear. It's your precious Bartimaeus after all who set off the explosion that almost killed the both of us." The man leaned closer, almost as if confiding a secret to a friend. "He knew what he was doing. But, like I told you months ago; demons care about one thing, and that's demons. I don't know what delusions you have, how he's managed to trick you into thinking he might have _feelings_ for you, but I can promise you Kitty, it's all a facade."

"Shut up." Kitty growled, "You know nothing. It's idiot magicians like you that started the _Nouda Incident _in the first place."

The mercenary's face twisted into a smirk as he drew his arm back to throw the card case.

"Better say your goodbyes," He sneered, and the case went sailing out of his hand.

Kitty ran. Not at the mercenary, but at the edge of the dock.

_Please let this work. _She pleaded silently in her head, as her feet pushed off the weathered rock. She stretched her arms out and reached for the small box that, in that moment, contained everything that mattered.

Kitty didn't see the man behind her picking up a rock and throwing it with deadly precision at the back of her head. All she felt was the cold rush of the stinking, polluted river water as it collapsed around her as the world tunnelled into a mass of black.

She didn't feel the bright silver clutched in her numb left arm, or see the small crack her death grip had made.

Her last thought, before the black faded to nothing at all was; _At least Bartimaeus will have some company down here._

_

* * *

_**Sorry if that chapter was a tad depressing...and short :P i promise it will lighten up soon, and hey, it almost the end! **

**bye xx**


	12. What do I do?

**Yeah... still going, we'll get to the end eventually (and before I'm 90, I hope)!**

**ntz96: nah, it's probably gonna be a couple more chapters, two at the most, I promise! I was tempted to leave the ending there - at least it would be ... interesting :P **

**MaiWishes: Haa your right, the first chapter i posted i was just like - "well, my life is over now, death by flaming" now its just the laziness.. yeah, you just kind of have to bear with me on the button/mercenary thing, if you squint at it with your head turned to the side it kind of works - at least in my mind! :)**

**Random Inspired: Trust me, after this, its one-shots all the way (i liked your BxK one btw, it was funny :) especially comparing kissing bartimaeus to stealing from magaicians) I only had a plan for the first chapter as it was! Ahaha your ending is better than any one i come up with for this story. definately write it :P . Well, you'd better not have a biology this time I update because its EASTER and EVERYBODY should be on holiday! **

**Disclaimer; If I was Jonathan Stroud, I'd stop wasting my time on FanFiction and write us another book, preferably with A LOT of BxK**

**Bartimaeus**

Silver.

Silver everywhere.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but I'm not the biggest fan of silver. No spirits are. See, it has this nasty habit of burning our essence. Not my favourite pass time. So you can probably understand what it felt like for a high-ranking djinn like myself to be encased in a coffin of silver, for the foreseeable future, the metal already chewing away at my insides.

On second thoughts no, you probably can't.

Luckily though, my highly developed mind is capable of more than just registering the complete agony as drops of silver acid nibbled away, the screaming in my essence which all but left me senseless, the pure pain I felt as...You get the picture.

Silver everywhere. _**(And not a drop to...no. You know you're losing it when you start quoting humans.)**_

The point is this exceptional brain of mind was dealing with all this, as well as checking out my surroundings, searching for a way out. _**(I'd also come up with two theories on the development of nuclear fusion, 57 questions with answers for 43 of them, and a haiku.)**_

And that's how I saw the gap.

A prison isn't much of a prison without walls to keep you in. The spell of Indefinite Confinement was no exception to this rule. Perhaps if the mercenary had put me in something, _anything_ other than Lovelace's flimsy card case things would have turned out differently, but that's the problem with villains these days; too poetic for their own good.

I suppose I should be grateful to Lovelace. If he'd been a fan of safes and vaults, this would be an entirely different story.

Grateful to Lovelace? _That's_ how to tell when you're losing it.

The gap.

I harnessed my wandering thoughts and prepared for the agony as I squeezed through the jagged tear of silver. Its serrated edges cutting straight into my essence. I almost wished I had just stayed inside, the nagging ebb of pain far preferable to the daggers punching me now. But _almost_ had never been enough to stop me before.

As the last of my essence escaped through the tiny crack I relished in the feel of slipping in to my most comfortable guise. A barrier between my essence and the harsh pull of the world around me.

It was then I realised I was underwater.

Spirits may not have hearts and lungs and all the precarious chemicals and infinitely disgusting substances inside our bodies which make it impossible for humans to breathe underwater, but a guise _is _more than just a mask; a spirit's reaction to the environment around it is controlled by our guise. So when I find myself to be submerged quite a distance underwater, my first instinct is to shift to a fish and get to the surface. No problem.

But Kitty always did have a knack for complicating the situation.

And there she was. Looking rather worse for wear, I must admit. Burn marks traced down the left side of her neck and scratches covered her face, not to mention there was a chunk of metal sticking out of her arm that was the size of a foliot. But that wasn't what drew my attention. What drew my attention, _all _my attention, _**(Which trust me, is a difficult thing to do.) **_was the death grip cutting off the circulation of essence in my hand.

She was holding my hand. Admittedly while she was injured and unconscious, floating several metres below the water. But she was holding my hand.

It was when I felt a strange, warm fuzzing in my essence that I realized what was happening: I was delusional. The silver had had more of an effect on me than I had originally thought.

_Time to get out of this mess._

Using the arm that was already attached to Kitty, I lifted her up to my level, spinning her round so she faced away from me. I pulled my arm up under her chin and set off towards the surface. We broke the surface after only a few powerful strokes _**(I've done a fair share of water sports in my time, believe me. Most humiliating of which was the magician who had a fondness for syncronized swimming – Two years of my long life I would be none too happy to forget, and not just because of the outfits.) **_but Kitty was even paler than before. What worried me most was the blood that should have been gushing out of the wound in her arm was nothing more than a slow trickle. The cold was slowing down her heartbeat.

I swam towards the bank of the river, tugging Kitty after me. When I reached the edge I was forced to climb out alone onto the concrete pier, awkwardly holding Kitty up behind me with one hand. Good thing I'm flexible.

Kitty's arms scraped across the rough surface as I attempted to drag her out of the water. God if she wasn't heavy. She was going to have some impressive grazes on her forearms when she woke up, but hey, give me some credit, I was the one who was being subjected to torture-by-silver not five minutes earlier.

Eventually we were both safe on the pier, panting heavily. Well, I was panting, Kitty was working the whole "dead" thing.

That thought stopped my inner ramblings. When had I last seen Kitty take a breath? Were her lips turning blue or was it just me? Frantically I scrambled to feel her pulse, placing my fingers against her neck.

Nothing.

If I had a heart it would have dropped through my stomach.

I rubbed my numb hands together, trying to get some warmth into my fingers so I could feel the pulse that _was _there. Nothing.

I must have repeated my actions at least three times before I finally stopped and realised that I wasn't going to feel a pulse. This was a waste of time. I needed to _do _something. CPR. Anything.

I can't say I've every felt fear in my life before. Sure, I've had the little pang that comes along with a spur of adrenaline, when you're afraid for your life and just need to keep going. But not real fear, the kind of fear that eats away at your stomach and laces your thoughts. The kind of fear that poisons your muscles and tints your memories. The non-immediate, slow building fear of realisation that you're about to lose something, something worse than your life, and there's nothing you can do about it.

It was this fear that I was introduced to as I stared down at the Kitty's pale face and started what I hoped resembled CPR, lacing my hands together and performing an approximation of compressions. How many should I do? Ten, twenty, thirty? Was that too many? I swear I felt one of her ribs creak after fifteen and stopped immediately. Maybe rescue breaths were better.

As I pinched Kitty's nose and lowered my head towards hers, I smiled ruefully, though there was no hint of humour in it.

_I never thought I'd find myself trying to _save _a magician._

* * *

**Yeah, Its a bit of a short one..**


	13. When did the world start falling apart?

**Soo ... as some people have been pointing out (thanks Oceanfell especially - guilt tripped me into sitting down and hashing out another chapter!), it's basically a year since I updated. Make an annual thing of it? Yeah? Okay, maybe not. **

**But I basically just wanted to let everyone know I **_**haven't **_**given up on writing the story, I just have a serious problem with acutally sitting down and getting on with it (I know, I know, heard it all before). But I **_**will **_**finish this eventually. There is one chapter, at a stretch two, to go now - so we'll see how much I can delay getting around to that. **

**Just quickly would be great if you can tell me if its all gone a bit OOC (I can't really tell if it has or hasn't) as I haven't actually read the books since about 2008 and this part was particularly tricky from Bartimaeus' side. **

**Anyway - stop reading this AN and get on with the story!**

* * *

The headline appeared underneath an advert for premium custom-made brass pentacles on the fourth page of _The Daily Mail, _despite its somewhat serious nature the article only comprised of seven lines of small, neat print;

**EXPLOSION IN SOUTH-EAST LONDON LEAVES GREENWICH PIER IMPASSABLE**

Residents of Rockfield House estate, on Greenwich pier, were giving a rude awakening this morning rising to find the majority of the local street destroyed by a blast of unknown origin. Despite the breadth of the explosion, curiously only one house appears to have been destroyed. Police refuse to comment on the incident further than to report that the blast is "clearly of a demon nature ... the power of the explosion narrows down suspects to those magicians proficient enough to summon the greater spirits; an afrit, or even a marid." To add to the confusion left by this mysterious event, perhaps mockingly dubbed the "Greenwich incident," only one casualty (currently unidentified) appears to have been found, police refuse to disclose their condition, dead or alive. The question that many in parliament will be asking today is how can we assure our own safety when it is clearly possible to perform a silent, and lethal, attack completely undetected. This can only add more controversy to the debate already furiously raging across the country over the rights of magicians to perform unauthorized summonings.

**Bartimaeus**

This was getting uncomfortable.

I shifted from my current shape, a suitably intimidating cross between a bengal tiger and an ape, to the now instinctual form of a young Egyptian boy. I couldn't stay here much longer. My essence, already severely depleted before this whole confusion started, was now practically leaking out of my ears. (_**Metaphorically speaking, of course)**_. But, surprisingly, I hadn't left yet. The old geezer must still be alive then. Shame.

_Or maybe its not such a shame, _I thought drily. The mercenary being alive left me with infinitely more opportunities for revenge than if he passes away peacefully in his sleep. _**(although only a puny two hundred and fifty four plans for payback occurred immediately, but maybe that's enough to be getting on with for one week .. Or maybe a day) **_I shook my head - seriously not the time for this.

I sat up pushing aside the now slightly clawed and battered newspaper, and stretching my arms above my head. No good. Sometimes I wish it was as easy for me as it was for humans - stick a can of some sugary mix of chemicals in their systems and they're fit as a fiddle and ready to go. Okay, I never wish that - humans, especially magicians, disgust me.

Well, _most _of them.

My eyes moved once more back down to the headline the pages were folded onto. Useless. I've never really understood the human obsession with news, newspapers, newsagents... Call it what you will. I guess its hard to comprehend how a person can be interested in the life of someone they don't, and probably never will, know. Us sprits can't afford that can't of luxury, worrying about thethings that happen to eachother. I guess that's what happens when you are part of a millenia oppressed race of higher beings. Or maybe we're just all inherently selfish._**(Hey, you have to develop a ruthless sense of self preservation after a few centuries living the 'survival of the fittest' lifestyle. We used to be all airy-fairy light and friendly before magicians came along).**_

But, as usual, you humans aren't interested in the woes of a _**(mighty, all-powerful, insert suitable honorific here) **_djinni, are you?

The journalists worked fast though, I'd give them that. It can't have been five hours since the explosion, and already fat magicians all over London were reading about it with their morning coffee, wondering who that one casualty was - maybe even giving a vague, barely concerned, thought about whether that person was dead or alive. Then on to the sports report. I didn't have that luxury. Every moment I was stuck here on Earth reminded me that the mercenary, because that's who they were soon going to realise they'd found, was _still_ alive.

_He _was still alive getting medical care, while _Kitty_ on the other hand..

Being a spirit on unimaginable power, I've never really had the need to bother with anger management _**(one slightly more novice magician once made the mistake of sending me to replace him at a anger management session - **_**I **_**thought it went rather well, but the 4 members who spent the next 60 years in asylums didn't seem to agree)**_ - a little angry destruction here and there was always good for the intimidation, and the satisfaction, of course. But in this case, I had more important things to being doing. Things that didn't involve blasting a hole through the wall of Kitty's living room. At least I hadn't found a way to justify it. Yet.

And despite the aching in my essence, I had to get on with the "completely vital" (not my words) task that I had deigned to complete. I stood up, ignoring the way Ptolemy's legs shook slightly at the knees, and made my slow, but still sufficiently impressive, way over to the small kitchen. There stood a just-boiled kettle, two mugs and several different boxes of teabags. Me, Bartimaeus, djinni, spirit. I was making tea. If that wasn't a sign that I sorely needed a trip back to the Other Place then I don't know what was.

Kitty, as always, was the reason behind this humiliating task.

She was alive, of course. _Alive_, being a seriously generous way of putting it. She was currently propped up in her bed, half awake and bandaged poorly in several places. Her neck was white on one side with antiseptic cream and dark scratches stood out against her frighteningly pale skin. The Thames water had finally dried out of her hair, leaving muddy stains on her clothes. Well, _I _wasn't going to change her out of them. Besides, it would only end up with a punch on Ptolemy's nose.

I put four teabags in each mug and poured boiling water over the top. _Easy_. Bartimaeus conquers the cup of tea. Picking up both mugs with one hand, I shuffled over to Kitty's bedroom, steeling myself for entering. As the door swung inward and her prone form appeared, my essence quavered slightly. _That's odd. _The thought was brushed aside as I moved, more energetically, into the room - I may be able to admit when i'm run down, but that doesn't mean everyone, especially Kitty, has to notice. She looked worried enough as it was.

"You humans really shouldn't frown so much." I found myself saying. "Not when you wrinkle so easily. I once knew a magician, back in China - 14th century - whose wrinkles were so bad that the skin on his forehead drooped over his eyes. Blind as a bat. Died, as you would expect, because of a gap in a badly drawn pentacle. Eaten by an imp. Now _that's _depressing." I didn't know why I was telling her this.

Kitty reacted differently than I expected. The frown lines on her face softened and she smiled, admittedly quite tiredly, but it was a sincere smile. My essence twisted again, near where Ptolemy's ribcage would have been. I tried to ignore it. _Something is seriously wrong with me._

"That wouldn't happen to me though, would it Bartimaeus?" Still smiling that smile. "I know at least one djinni who wouldn't dream of attacking me if I just _happened _to leave a gap in my summoning circle." I raised a skeptical eyebrow _**(refraining from reminding her that I had in fact taken advantage of several magicians who had made that very mistake. Self control in action). **_It was almost infuriating, the trust she had in my character. Well, it _felt _like fury - a strange anger that only added to the incessant wavering in my essence.

But I only said; "Don't spread that around, You'll ruin my fearsome reputation in a moment"

She was still smiling at me, and I was starting to think she might just be a little bit delirious. I stepped forward to take a closer look at her bandaged arm, maybe it was infected - humans are so fragile, after all. I put the two steaming mugs on the bedside table and reached out to lift up Kitty's arm, turning it over. A small smear of blood had started to seep through the material, but no green ooze was appearing, and it hadn't dropped off yet. Did that mean it was normal? I glanced up at her face, placing her arm back on the bed. She wasn't watching me, but was looking at the tea sitting a few inches away from her right hand, an expression I couldn't read _**(and **_**that **_**is saying something)**_ on her face. "What?" I asked, glancing into one of the mugs, "Are there supposed to be more teabags? Some tobasco sauce?" Kitty's eyed snapped back up to mine. "I know humans have a lot of strange tastes, but I thought that that might be a bit-"

She interrupted me. _Me_.

"You _actually_ made tea?"

For some reason Kitty sounded decidedly incredulous. As if I couldn't manage to make a simple cup of tea. Oh _please_.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Of course I made tea, it's not that difficult, you know." I was rambling again. Other Place. Soon. "Just press a button on some electrical machine, put some leaves in a cup" Kitty was still watching me, my essence churning in a way that probably would have made me sick, if I had a stomach. "And _voila_! Funny thing about that saying - _Voila _- did I ever tell you-"

Kitty interrupted me for the second time in less than a minute. My first thought was that my reputation must well and truly be shot to pieces by now.

For once, I didn't really have a second thought. Or a third. Or another thirty-seven.

Because Kitty was kissing me.

The ever present shaking in my essence got stronger.

Oh.

**Kitty**

The last few hours were a mess for Kitty. A jumble of pain, worry and confusion. The last vaguely coherent thought she remembered having was jumping off the pier into the torturously cold water of the Thames. After that her memory became a series of half formed thoughts and images. A smooth brown hand, vice like around her wrist. Cold air biting against her wet face. Pain in the ribs, the arm, the forehead. Her throat. Coughing, gasping for her, a tingling in her lips. Dark, dark eyes. Wide with ... fear? Worry? Desperation?

Kitty screwed her eyes further shut as her brain struggled to understand what had happened. _The mercenary_. The mercenary!

She sat up abruptly, surprised when the crumbled tarmac underneath her gave way easily. Where was Bartimaeus? The magician could have taken him anywhere by now. When Kitty opened her eyes the world remained dark for a second before a faint glow appeared off to her right, in the corner of her vision. It was soft and warm, reminding her of the lamp beside her bed. Oh, how she wished she could just be home in bed right now.

Wait a minute. That wasn't asphalt. Kitty splayed her hands out on the ground, propping herself further up. No, not the ground. Her bed. She _was_ in her bed. At home. How did she get here?

Bartimaeus.

Kitty didn't know whether to sigh in relief, or groan in annoyance: She was safe, Bartimaeus was safe - a dark shape on the chair near her bed confirmed that - but the spirit was still _here_ - and if Bartimaeus was still here then, of course, the mercenary was still alive. This was getting ridiculous.

She must have made a some small noise of frustration, because almost immediately the shape in her chair moved, stretching over to the nearby light switch and flicking it on silently. Her bedroom immediately filled with painfully bright light, and Kitty had to close her eyes again for a moment to adjust. When she opened them again there he was - Bartimaeus, sitting cross-legged at the foot of her bed. His head cocked to the side as he surveyed her quietly. Despite his rigid stance, Kitty could make out a distinct hunch around his shoulders, his left hand traitorously clutched slightly around his stomach. He looked ... tired. An odd thought occurred to her.

"Were you asleep?" Kitty asked, genuinely curious. Could spirits even sleep?

Bartimaeus focussed on her face, and if Kitty didn't know any better, she's say he looked surprised.

"That's what you choose to ask after being almost destroyed in an explosion, and then drowning in a river?" His eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

Sometimes Kitty forgot how alien she must seem to him. Even though she thought that maybe he- She stopped that thought right there. Yes, Kitty knew she felt _something _towards the spirit perched at the end of her bed (it only took a moment's thought, and she had sore eyes and a rasping throat to prove it). But he was a demon, a djinn, and he didn't, he couldn't, feel the same way. Kitty didn't voice any of this. Instead she sighed in (not entirely sincere) frustration.

"Well, what am I supposed to ask you then? How did I get here? Were is Mr Button? Why aren't you in the Other Place?" Kitty tried to raise her arm to massage her temples, but was stopped by a sharp pain across her elbow. She glanced down at it, surprised to see a soft white bandage wrapped loosely around her arm, from above her elbow down to her wrist. "Or what about, how do _you _know First Aid?"

Bartimaeus held up his hands in a gesture of mock surrender.

"Okay, okay. I get the message. Don't mess with Kitty first thing in the morning." He paused. Looked vaguely uncomfortable. Kitty would have said he was struggling to say something, if she didn't know him better. Bartimaeus never, never, had a problem with words. But there it was; "Uh... do you, um, need anything?" He asked, awkwardly. "I mean, I don't really know much about the human immune system. Well, aside from the disgusting side of things. But you don't really want to know the details of that particular, uh..."

He stopped, looking a mix between vaguely put out and slightly offended. "Are you listening?"

Kitty realized her eyes had unfocussed and she was staring blankly a the ceiling. She shook her head again. It felt like her brain was on the verge of sloshing out of her ears.

"Yeah. Sorry. Concussion, I think. Nothing a good cup of tea can't fix." She paused, unsure how far she could push Bartimaeus' new found helpfulness. "You.. couldn't make a cup of tea, could you?"

Surprisingly, Bartimaeus was up in a flash, that superior, i'm-an-all-knowing-djinni expression back on his face.

"Can I make a cup of tea? I, a superior being of the highest intelligence. I _think _I can manage." This was accompanied with a wink, and soon the Egyptian boy was off the bed and halfway to the door. Kitty had just started to close her eyes, no energy to argue back, when Bartimaeus stopped and turned round. "Oh, and to answer _all _your questions."

Here he began ticking things off with his fingers; "No, the Roc, in hospital, because the mercenary's still alive, and lastly," He pushed the door open and walked out, "You really, seriously don't want to know how I learned First Aid."

Despite herself, Kitty couldn't hold back a grudging chuckle.

* * *

Kitty started awake as the door opened once more. She hadn't even realized that her eyes had closed, thoughts drifting further and further away, until all that was left were dark eyes, cold water, and a warmth in her stomach.

It was Bartimaeus, of course. Kitty noticed him visibly pulling himself taller as he entered the room, no doubt under the impression that she didn't know the state he was in. Kitty's eyebrows scrunched downwards in a frown. Despite his best efforts, and he was clearly staying in the guise of Ptolemy just to fool her, the edges and lines of the spirits' body wavered slightly when Kitty looked out of the corner of her eye - making him seem as insubstantial as a heat wave, and that worried her. Even after the Nouda Incident, as a pile of brown sludge, Bartimaeus had remained a strong presence, clearly defined.

It must be bad if he looked like this.

"You humans really shouldn't frown so much." Bartimaeus had clearly noticed my staring. "Not when you wrinkle so easily. I once knew a magician, back in China - 14th century - whose wrinkles were so bad that the skin on his forehead drooped over his eyes. Blind as a bat. Died, as you would expect, because of a gap in a badly drawn pentacle. Eaten by an imp. Now _that's _depressing."

Kitty smiled._This_ was the Bartimaeus she knew - always on the edge of some paradoxical anecdote. The knowledge of a thousand centuries being used for stories over dinnertime. Or over a battle with some gruesome spirit. Depending on the situation.

Besides. This was all irrelevant, after all;

"That wouldn't happen to me though, would it Bartimaeus? I know at least one djinni who wouldn't dream of attacking me if I just _happened _to leave a gap in my summoning circle."

He said something suitably Bartimaeus-like in response and picked up Kitty's bandaged arm, looking it over as one would a dead animal. Curiosity and a little wariness.

She was about to snap half-heartedly at the djinni, all this over some stupid scratch, when Kitty's eyes caught on the two blue ministry mugs Bartimaeus had placed absentmindedly on her bedside table. Steam rose from the surface of the water, and what looked like several teabags poked out of the top of each, leaving a black, gritty tea behind.

Two things occurred to Kitty immediately.

First, Bartimaeus, self-proclaimed superior being, had actually made her a cup of tea.

Kitty's eyes snapped up to Bartimaeus, he was rambling quickly, if he was a human, she's almost say he was nervous.

"You _actually _made tea?"

Second, and perhaps more importantly, was the second mug - slightly chipped - placed next to hers.

_He made one for himself_.

Kitty didn't know what it was about this fact that affected her so deeply. Was it the gesture, of companionship? Or, was it the utter _normalcy_, of the act. So _human_. Not some greater spirit, on some different plane of being, but a spirit capable of emotion, of feeling.

Bartimaeus was still talking, faster now. And Kitty's only thought was how he shouldn't be talking, he _really shouldn't._

She was about to do something stupid.

But it was already too late because the next thing Kitty knew, she was kissing him.

And Bartimaeus hadn't killed her.

Yet.

* * *

**Well, there you go, after what? twelve chapters and what might as well be as many years, I finally get around to the BxK kiss. Glad that milestone's over. **

**Made this one a bit longer, and rambling, by way of apology.**

**See you in hopefully less than a year!**

**xxxxxx**


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